Yu-Gi-Oh ZEXAL: Numbers Truth
by OPFan37
Summary: Test Chapter. The origin of the Numbers and The Door, a new third world, and what is left behind: Negative Numbers.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Not a Normal Day

"My turn! Draw!" I looked at the cards in my hand and nodded. "I summon Constellar Kaus!" Several stars floated together as a white centaur warrior with a bow and arrow appeared. "Now, Kaus! Attack directly!" The monster fired an arrow into my opponents stomach, sending him flying back.

 **LP: 0**

 **WIN!**

"Yes!" I took off my Duel Gazer and Pad, putting them in the holders on my belt. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright." He groaned as I helped him up. "Man, you really are strong! I can't believe you haven't entered any tournaments yet!"

"Trust me, tournament competitors are on a whole different level to me." I admitted. "But thanks for the vote of confidence."

"No problem, now I'd better see if anyone else wants to Duel me before class restarts. See ya!" We waved to each other as he sprinted off.

My name is Lennox Mori, I'm male, 13 years old, and a duelist. I live in Heartland City, this large beautifully coloured area that you would kill to see at night, where I attend Heartland Academy, the middle school, with all my friends and fellow Duelists.

I suppose I'd better start with appearances. I'm caucasian, around average height for my age, with dark blue eyes and crimson hair that is mostly swept back, apart from the front where it turns into two blonde strands that curve down behind my ears and reach my shoulders before spiking up, making a sort of 'V' shape. I was currently wearing the standard Heartland Academy uniform in red to define my year.

"Hey! Lennox!"

I turned to see a guy with black and red hair running towards me, almost tripping over himself with enthusiasm. "Looks like you just beat that guy! So come on! Duel me!"

I sighed. This guy was Yuma Tsukumo, a classmate of mine. I've seen him with Kotori and Tetsuo a couple of times, and he's also with me in my lessons. The reason I'm not saying I don't know him that well is because...well...it's hard not to when he's the guy who falls asleep in class and fails at everything, not to mention the shouting. Plus, he really sucked at Dueling, hasn't even learned the basics!

"Are you sure about that, Yuma?" I asked.

"Of course I am! Let's Duel! C'mon already!" He persisted.

Kotori came over to us. "Yuma, stop bothering Lennox."

"I'm not! I just want a Duel!" He whined.

"How about this, Yuma. I'll Duel you tomorrow, no holds barred." I said.

"For real?" He smiled like a little kid at a carnival. "Your on, Lennox! But you'd better keep your promise!" He then ran off to Duel someone else.

"Thanks, Lennox!" Kotori thanked me as she followed him. It was obvious she had a crush on him, it's just he was too dense to figure it out. Still, he wasn't bad, just...inexperienced. REALLY inexperienced.

The rest of the day passed by quickly and I began walking home. As usual I passed by the card shop and walked inside.

"Afternoon, Lennox." The shopkeeper routinely greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Ging." I greeted.

"Which one is it gonna be today? Or do I even need to ask?"

I chuckled. "The usual, please."

"You got it." He reached behind him and grabbed a card pack as I dug into my pocket for my chores money and placed it on the counter in exchange for the pack. I quickly opened it and shuffled through the cards, ending with me pocketing them. "No luck?"

"No luck." I confirmed with a nod.

"Listen, Lennox. Xyz Monsters are no easy thing to come by." Ging assured me. "Besides, the Deck you've got there is pretty good. Trust me, I know my stuff."

"I know, Ging. I love my Deck, just an Xyz would be nice, y'know?" I shrugged. "Maybe its a sign that I'm not ready for one yet."

Ging crossed his arms. "I don't believe in any of that spiritual stuff, but Xyz or not, your a good Duelist in my eyes kiddo."

"Thanks, see you later!" I waved as I walked out of the shop and headed home.

My house was a quaint little one, with a plain garden and two trees, yellow bricks, blue doors, a red roof, and a whole ton of windows. As I jogged up the steps, I noticed an Obot picking up leaves. "Woah! Woah! Hey!" I ran in front of it. "I've told you Obots a dozen times! Cleaning up leaves is my job! You guys get the pavements!"

"Cleaning, cleaning." The machine persisted.

I sighed as I turned it around and pushed it on its merry way, though looking across the lawn I was pretty grateful for it doing half the job. Ignoring the chore for now I walked up the door and looked to my right, noticing a violet car of all colours parked in the driveway. "Yep, she's home." I opened the door and walked in. "I'm home!"

"Is that you, Lennox?" A voice called from the kitchen before a woman walked out. She looked fairly young with long blonde hair trailing down to the small of her back with a cowslip at the top, wearing a white apron over her pink shirt and jeans that deliberately hugged her curves. "Hey there! How ya doing?"

"Fine thanks, Amy." Amy was my Auntie. She didn't like me calling her Auntie though because it made her feel old. Don't know why it would, she's 26! "Whatcha cooking? Smells really nice."

"Chicken and green bean ramen." She said proudly. "Hey Lennox, can you do me a favour?"

"Sure, what?" I asked as I put my bag away neatly.

"Go up and talk to my brother, will ya?" She groaned. "He's been moaning all day about wanting his son to get home."

I snickered. "Gotcha, thanks!"

"No prob!" She called as I jogged up the stairs, slowing down as I reached my dads room. I slowly opened the door to find him lying in bed as usual, a sickly look on his face. His red and golden hair and beard flared out across his face, making it look like a lions mane, or a 'stupid sun' as my Auntie called it.

"Hey dad." I greeted him.

"Lennox!" His sickly look instantly vanished as he sat up with a big grin on his face. "There's my boy! How was school, son? Get any wins today!?"

"Yeah, three in a row." I smiled.

"That's my boy!" He instantly reached over and grabbed his D-Pad from his desk, a standard model with an orange colour, and put on his red Duel Gazer with a golden body. "Get ready, Lennox! 'Cause I'm gonna give you a Duel you'll never forge-Cough! Cough! Urgh..." He flopped back onto his bed.

"For the last time, dad, don't push yourself." I said with a half-lidded stare.

"Right, right, spoilsport." He mumbled. "Doesn't mean I can't still Duel."

"Sure it doesn't." I chuckled as I got out my Deck. "Let's just Duel the old fashioned way."

"Now your talking!" He grabbed a placemat and put it on his bed, as we both placed our Decks down and got our five cards in hand.

"DUEL!" We both cried.

Later, me and Amy were eating downstairs after I brought a bowl up for dad, slurping away with a ravenous appetite.

"He tried to climb out the window again today." Amy absentmindedly mumbled. "You'd think after 5 years he'd learn to just rest...but that's my brother for you."

"That's the way dad always is." I stated as I finished and started clearing the table.

"Yeah, yeah, he'd have broken something if I hadn't come back in time." She nodded. "It's a good thing Mr. Heartland let me off early." Amy had worked at Heartland Towers ever since she came over from England, and she'd risen up from maintaining Litterbots to just under the mayor, Mr. Heartland himself. Apparently its just a lot of boring computer work, but it gets really good pay at least.

After finishing the dishes I visited dad again and we had another Duel, before long it was night time and I was sitting on his bed, sorting through my cards, when he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Your mother would be so proud of you." He smiled.

I returned the smile as I looked at the prized portrait on his bedside table. My mother was a beautiful woman with light green hair that was as long as could be, and soft, blue eyes that sparkled brilliantly. She had passed away when I was 8, and my dad caught the same illness as her. He never showed signs of getting worse or better, and doctors were at a loss for even identifying it, so we were allowed to keep him at home, and I'm always grateful to Auntie Amy for supporting us.

I walked into my room, quite a simple one, with a blue bed and green wallpaper, yellow carpet, a writing desk, books, the usual. I walked over to my cupboard and opened it, taking out the cards I got today and carefully placing them on the huge stack of cards I already had (it was a nightmare that one time they fell over). Before you ask, no, I am not a horder, I just never have the heart to throw away any of these cards. I donate them and trade them, yes, but never toss. After all, I love thinking about how someone took the time and effort to create the picture on the front, draw up the effect, take time and planning into every single card. I really think card creators don't get enough praise (despite their massive wealth), but maybe I'm just overthinking it and they're mass produced in a factory or something...still, though.

I got out of my uniform and hung it up for tomorrow then got into my PJ's, a short sleeve black shirt with a dark pink dragon head on the front (a gift from my loving Aunt.) and some white and red checkered baggy bottoms before hopping into bed and drifting off to sleep.

 _ZEXAL_

The next morning was Friday, and so dressed in my uniform I headed off to school. Although, today something was different...the classroom wasn't as loud, there wasn't as much noise in the gymnasium, no splashes in the pool...it was just so...dull.

I didn't realise until break what was wrong, as I noticed Yuma, who looked really down for some reason, walking towards me.

"Hey, Yuma." I greeted him cautiously. "Oh, right! You wanted me to Duel you today. Well, I'm ready when you are."

"Sorry, Lennox." He replied glumly. "I don't feel like Dueling today."

Now THIS was a shock. The one thing that everybody knew about Yuma was that he loved Dueling, despite how bad he was. To see him turn down a Duel meant something was wrong.

"Oh, hi, Lennox." Kotori greeted me, sadly.

"Uh, hey, Kotori." I replied. "What's wrong with Yuma?"

"Oh, he's felt bad ever since yesterday." She said. "When his pendant got broken by Shark."

"Shark?" I recalled. "He broke that pendant?"

"Yes, and now Yuma's been glum ever since. I don't really understand, but I know it was a gift from his father."

That struck a nerve in me, I knew Yuma's loss of his parents, which was kinda relatable to me, and to hear his fathers gift getting broken sounded really bad.

"What about his usual...Kattobingu?" I asked, remembering his 'catchphrase'.

She shook her head. "Nothing. His spirit really seems broken."

"Geez..." I rubbed the back of my head, honestly feeling sorry for Yuma.

"I'd better keep an eye on him. See you later, Lennox." She waved as she ran after him.

I sighed. "Goddamnit, Ryoga..."

I walked home later that evening, dad had thankfully nodded off the entire day, I didn't want him to see me looking so unfocused. I kept thinking about the situation with Yuma and Shark...to be honest, I considered Shark a friend, we'd met in the hospital when my dad and his sister were in, and we bonded a bit. But recently it felt like he was drifting more and more into a bad crowd. I don't know if it was guilt or whatever, but it just felt like I was losing him.

Still, on the other hand, I didn't want to butt into this business of Yuma's after Tetsuo explained the whole thing to me. I was worried, obviously. Shark is stronger then me, so how is Yuma of all Duelists going to beat him? In the end, I decided to stop worrying about it and just let my mind be at ease. After all, tomorrow was the weekend!

 _ZEXAL_

Saturday morning, and I was up at the crack of dawn! As I didn't have to wear my uniform, I got on my standard, favourite clothes; an open aquamarine short sleeve shirt that was cream coloured on the inside, over a long sleeve half orange half green shirt, the green and orange seperated by a zigzag across the stomach and at the shoulders, with the orange being at my chest whilst the green covered my waist and sleeves. This went with a pair of dark blue trousers with yellow streaks along the edges, and black slip on shoes with green around the soles, side and back.

"I'm heading out!" I called.

"Just be back for dinner!" Amy called.

"How could I ever miss a meal?" I chuckled before setting off out the door.

My main focus for the weekend was to see if I could find anyone to Duel, maybe do a bit of cheap labour for pocket change card money, and see if I could find where Yuma and Shark would be Dueling, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see it.

I ran up a flight of stairs and continued on the upper path levels, but I couldn't find anyone with a D-Pad, just shoppers and runners. I decided to go up higher, with no luck, so I went higher still, and found myself alone on one of the uppermost platforms.

"Okay, I might have gone a bit overboard." I admitted, looking across Heartland. "Nice view though." I leaned over the edge and stared across the city. "I can see why mum and dad both came here, Heartland really is colourful, it just lifts your spirit right up!"

I looked down at the people walking below me. "Mum was a great Duelist, she could use Xyz Monsters easily...I want to be as good as her someday...but am I good enough right now?" I looked up. "I'll have to find that answer out myself."

I then realised something. "Good god, I'm talking to myself spiritually, I am NEVER going to be alone this long again. I'd better head back down." I turned towards the flight of steps.

Squelch.

...Ohhhhhh nooooo...please don't tell me I just stepped in dog crap.

I tentatively lifted my foot up and stared at the bottom, but instead of finding a brown streak across my shoe, I found a blob of red goo instead. "What the..." Cringing, I pulled the goo off. It wasn't slimy, and it wasn't sticky, it felt like jelly in a way. "Gross, what is this?" I flicked it off my hand, only to see there was more around my feet. I followed the trail with my eyes to see a big puddle of it.

"That is disgusting." I stated with a disapproving look. "What is this? Some kind of joke?" I walked over to the puddle and looked at it. "It's funny though, I don't remember this being here when I came up..." I knelt down next to it, and as quickly as possible, stabbed it with my finger, causing it to ripple like water. "Weird..."

Blub.

I jumped, and looked at the goo, which seemed to be...moving? "Huh!? Why is this stuff-wah!" I cried out as the goo started shifting more frantically, the splotches all around it suddenly came to life and slid their way to the main puddle, merging with it.

I frantically backed off as the puddle began to rise and mold itself into a shape. It made itself look humanoid, with two arms, three fingered hands, two legs, toe-less feet and a skinny torso. Its head was spherical, and a yellow light suddenly flashed inside it, which became a single yellow ball for an eye.

I could only stare at the thing. What was I supposed to do!? A blob of goo just turned into...into humanish goo! You ever seen that happen!?

The eye shot around wildly in its head, observing its surroundings like a steroid induced goldfish in a glass bowl, before finally coming to rest on me.

It stared for a bit before I actually responded. "Uh...hello?"

The eye blinked. "D..."

I jumped again, I certainly hadn't expected it to talk! But its voice was weird, as if it was constantly speaking underwater.

"D...Duel." It said.

"Duel?" I echoed in confusion.

"Duel." It repeated, pointing to my D-Pad.

"Er...yyyyyeah, I Duel." I really didn't know what to do in this situation. "Do you...have a name, or something?"

The thing raised its left arm, and suddenly the goo on its arm stretched into a Duel Disk, the goo stretching out further to form monster and Spell/Trap zones, and I watched as forty cards slid out of its body and into its holder.

"Duel." It persisted.

"Y-You want to Duel me?" It nodded. "I never thought I'd get challenged to a Duel by a blob of goo...what am I supposed to do here?"

"Duel."

"Yeah, you said that." I crossed my arms in thought. Dueling didn't exactly have any restrictions on Duelists...but it was a blob of slime!...Ah screw it, a Duel is a Duel, and I'm always up for one! "Alright, goo! I accept your challenge!"

"Duel Disk, set!" I got out my standard yellow coloured D-Pad and equipped it to my left wrist, the zones folding out.

"D-Gazer, set!" My D-Gazer had a sharp sky blue lens and an arrowhead shaped red and silver body with the clip curving around behind my left ear (as I wore it over my left eye). The goo's eye glowed brightly, showing that it didn't need a D-Gazer.

 _"AR-Vision, Link Established."_ A voice said as 0's and 1's surrounded us, with various information screens such as what other Duels were happening nearby appeared.

"DUEL!"

 **Lennox vs. Unknown LP: 4000**

I looked up at the things player screenshot and name, only to find its name listed as 'Unknown'.

"I'll go first!" I said. "I draw!" The cards in my hand appeared in front of me as holographic images so I could study them: **Miracle Card** , Constellar Acubens, Double Summon, **Level Booster** , Constellar Zubeneschamali, and Constellar Algiedi.

"Awesome! I summon Constellar Algiedi from my hand!" A white armoured Spellcaster with 1600 ATK materialised from sparkles. "Now her effect activates! When Algiedi is summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 monster from my hand! C'mon, Constellar Acubens!" A Machine type formed together with 800 ATK.

"And when Acubens is summoned, all Constellars I currently control gain 500 attack!" Algiedi and Acubens were boosted to 2100 and 1300 ATK respectively. "I set a card and end my turn!"

"Turn. Draw." 'Unknown' said as its one eye looked at its hand...it was kinda creepy. "Summon. **Goo Shadow**."

A purple puddle of goo formed in front of it, which rose up into a flat figure with a bending tail connecting it to the 'X' for a foot, it had long flat fingers and was wearing a blood red scarf with thin whipping ends, whilst there were two holes in its face acting as eyes, as well as an innocent crescent shaped smile, with what looked like two little devil horns on its head.

 **Goo Shadow, Level 4, Aqua, DARK, ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200**

"Goo?" I'd never heard of an archetype like that before, but I had to admit it was ironically fitting.

"Activate. **Blood Lust**." The Spell was primarily red with an enraged figure in the centre. "Monster shall gain 800 attack." Goo Shadow gained a red aura as its ATK became 2200.

"Damn, it's attack is higher!" I gasped.

"Attack, Algiedi." The shadow giggled before sliding over and pulling its arms back in preparation.

"I activate my Trap, Miracle Card!" The Trap showed a golden shooting card in the center of a sparkling galaxy. "When my opponent declares an attack, I draw a card, then apply an appropriate effect depending on the type of card I drew!"

I placed my fingers on the top of my Deck. "I'm ready! Draw!" I looked at the card and smiled. "I drew a Monster Card! Constellar Kaus!" I revealed the card. "Due to Miracle Card's effects, my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle until the End Phase!" Algiedi and Acubens glowed golden as Goo Shadow impacted Algiedi.

 **Lennox's LP: 3900**

"Blood Lust allows attack twice." It said. "Attack, Acubens." Goo Shadow giggled again before punching Acubens.

 **Lennox's LP: 3000**

"Set card. Turn end." It finished.

'So it actually knows how to Duel.' I thought. 'Okay then, no holding back!'

"My turn! Draw!" I placed the drawn card in my hand and picked another one. "I activate the Spell, Double Summon!" The card spun into augmented existence. "With this, I'm allowed to Normal Summon twice this turn! Firstly, I'll release my Constellar Acubens..." The robot disappeared. "To Advance Summon Constellar Zubeneschamali!" A new robot appeared from the sparkling ashes of Acuben, with 2100 ATK.

"When Zubeneschamali is Summoned, I can add a Constellar from my Deck to my hand!" I fanned out my Deck and picked a card. "I choose Constellar Sombre!"

"Also, I summon Constellar Kaus!" The white centaur with a bow and arrow appeared. "Okay, Kaus! Activate your effect!" Kaus drew back a light arrow into its bow. "Up to twice per turn, I can increase or decrease a Constellar's Level by 1! I'll increase Zubeneschamali's!" Kaus fired skyward as the arrow burst into sparkles that rained down on the machine, boosting its Level to 6.

"I use Kaus' effect again to increase Zubeneschamali's Level once more!" Kaus repeated its action, boosting its fellow Constellar to Level 7.

"Finally, I activate the Spell, Level Booster!" The card showed a Gogiga Gagagigo pulsing with power as 8 Level stars rose up around it. "With this, all monsters I control gain 100 attack points times their own Levels until the End Phase! With Kaus' and Algiedi's Levels at 4, they get 400, whilst Zubeneschamali gains 700!" The monsters gained a white aura as Kaus' ATK became 2200, Algiedi's 2500, and Zubeneschamali's 2800.

"Now we can start! Zubeneschamali! Attack Goo Shadow!" The machine nodded as it sped forward and stabbed the shadow with its swords. The resulting burst of light caused my opponent to wobble in an unstable manner.

 **Unknown's LP: 2600**

"Goo Shadow's effect." It said. "When destroyed, summon another with 0 attack and defence." A second Goo Shadow rose up, its stats both dropping to 0.

"Well then I'll take them all out!" I declared.

"Trap Card. **Fear Instinct**." The card showed a pair of blood red eyes menacingly glaring. "When monster destroyed, ends Battle Phase." The red eyes materialised and flashed at my monsters, causing them to back off.

"Damn, I went in too strongly." I muttered. "I end my turn, with my monsters attacks returning to normal, though Algiedi still has her boost from Acubens." The white glow left the Constellar's.

'I underestimated this thing.' I thought. 'It knows how to Duel well. But...what exactly is it?'

Just then, I felt something.

Call it an intuition, or a hunch, but I felt like the world suddenly stopped for a few brief seconds. It was like a grim shadow had just floated past me, or a cold wind had just blown.

It felt like something horrible had happened.

"What was..." I thought aloud, but then I noticed something about my goo for an opponent.

A light was glowing on its head, where its face should've been. A red light, that...kinda...looked like the number 48.

"Turn. Draw." It stated. "Summon. Goo Shadow." A second Goo Shadow joined its buddy. "Activate. **Level Force**." The Spell showed a man in pain as a red aura pushed him down. "Reduce Level of monsters by 1." The Goo Shadow's dropped to Level 3.

'What is it doing?' I thought.

"Overlay, two Level 3 Goo Shadow's." I gasped as the two monsters turned into streams of purple energy.

"No way in hell!" I yelled. "This thing can Xyz Summon!?"

A galactic portal opened up at its feet. "Build Overlay Network with two monsters." The two purple streams dived into the portal in a sparkling explosion.

"Appear! Number 48!" A long scythe with a red 48 on it followed by a ball of tattered red cloth appeared. "Ghostly reaper. Shadow Lich!" The red cloth opened to reveal a half skeleton that looked down at me menacingly, as two purple lights orbited it, and its 1800 ATK appeared in an info box next to it.

"Number...?" I breathed heavily in fear as the ghastly monster loomed over us. "This thing...it feels pure evil!"

"Numbers..." The slime spoke. "Numbers...destroy...everything!"

"Destroy?" I echoed, looking up at the 'Number'. "This monster..."

Number 48, Shadow Lich, brandished its scythe with a menacing laugh...

 _Goo Shadow: If you control a Level 4 monster, you can Special Summon this card from your hand. When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 'Goo Shadow' from your Deck with its ATK and DEF reduced to 0._

 _Blood Lust: Target 1 monster you control; it gains 800 ATK and can attack twice. these changes last until the End Phase._

 _Miracle Card: When a monster your opponent controls declares an attack; draw 1 card, then apply one of the following effects depending on the type of card you drew:_

 _Monster Card: Your monsters cannot be destroyed by battle until the End Phase._

 _Spell Card: Double the Battle Damage you recieve from that attack._

 _Trap Card: Negate the attack._

 _Level Booster: All monsters you currently control gain 100 ATK x their own Level, until the End Phase._

 _Fear Instinct: When a monster you control is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, end the Battle Phase._

 _Level Force: Reduce the Level of all monsters you control by 1._

 **Hello! This is the test of my ZEXAL story! It has been published after my 5D's test chapter and is soon gonna be followed by my GX test chapter, so check those out too if your interested!**

 **If you don't know what this is about, I am currently doing a story on Arc-V, but since I'm all caught up on the episodes now, I decided to test out ideas I had for the other series' in the meantime, and asked readers to vote for which they wanted to see. 5D's placed first, ZEXAL second, and GX third, so I am posting them in that order. Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's: Beyond Limits went up yesterday and GX shall be up Sunday.**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed reading this test chapter! If you liked it, leave a review! The most popular out of the three might get continued!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Numbers

"Activate Number 48 effect!" The thing said. "Detach Overlay Unit, Special Summon Phantom Token!" Number 48 swung its scythe, destroying one of its Overlay Units, then a smaller version of the monster with 500 Defence appeared next to it. "Number 48, gain attack from Phantom Token attack. 500 points!" Shadow Lich was boosted to 2300 ATK.

"Now it's stronger!" I hissed.

"Attack! Constellar Zubeneschamali!" The monster cackled as it swung its scythe, bisecting the machine in an explosion.

 **Lennox's LP: 2800**

"It's tough..." I muttered.

"Set card. End." It finished. "Whilst Phantom Token controlled, Number 48 cannot be attacked."

I gritted my teeth. "Whatever that monster is, I'll destroy it! My turn! Draw!" I looked at the Constellar Sombre and Satellarknight Unukalhai in my hand, and the Guard Break I just drew. "Perfect! I summon Satellarknight Unukalhai from my hand!" The white and gold warrior appeared with 1800 ATK.

"Now I activate my Spell, Guard Break!" The Spell showed a red and yellow shield being shattered by a bolt of lightning in the shape of a spear. "This targets a defence position monster, then switches it to attack position and reduce its attack by its Level times 100! I choose your Phantom Token!" The Token was switched to ATK Position and its power fell by 100, to 400 ATK.

"Constellar Kaus! Attack Phantom Token!" Kaus drew a bow of light and fired it into the Phantom Token, destroying it in a burst of light.

 **Unknown's LP: 1200**

Shadow Lich's ATK fell to 1800. "Now, Constellar Algiedi! Attack Number 48: Shadow Lich!" Algiedi launched a beam of light from its staff that hit Shadow Lich in a large explosion.

 **Unknown's LP: 900**

'Okay, now I just have to have Unukalhai attack directly!' I thought.

But as the smoke cleared, a pair of red eyes gleamed in the smoke. "What!?" Shadow Lich revealed itself. "Why wasn't it destroyed!?"

"Numbers only destroyed, by other Numbers." It said.

"Destruction negation!?" I muttered. "I can't destroy it right now...but he only has 900 Life Points left, as long as I can deal enough damage...I end my tur-"

"Activate Number 48 effect." Shadow Lich sliced its remaining Overlay Unit, making a new Phantom Token appear in DEF Position, reboosting it to 2300 ATK.

"It allowed itself to take damage in exchange for boostingf attack!" I realised. "I end my turn!"

"Turn. Draw. Continuos Trap, **Overlay Feast**." The card showed a Gagagigo the Risen eating two Overlay Units. "Once per turn, Use card in hand as Overlay Unit, to monster with none." A card in his hand glowed before attaching to Shadow Lich as an Overlay Unit. "Activate Number 48 effect." The new Overlay Unit instantly disappeared as a second Phantom Token appeared in DEF Position, boosting Shadow Lich to 2800 ATK.

"It keeps getting stronger and boosting its defence!" I hissed.

"Spell, **Frenzy Reaping**." The card showed Pilgrim Reaper in a graveyard, slicing through souls. "Target monster, allow it to attack number of times as controlled monsters, no other monsters attack." The two Phantom Token's gave off a red aura that infected Shadow Lich.

"Wait, it can attack three times!?" I gasped.

"Attack, Satellarknight Unukalhai!" Shadow Lich raised its scythe and slashed Pollux, destroying it.

 **Lennox's LP: 1800**

"Constellar Kaus!" It attacked Kaus with its scythe.

 **Lennox's LP: 800**

"Constellar Algiedi!" My third and final monster was destroyed, sending me flying back and crashing into the ground.

 **Lennox's LP: 100**

"Arrgghh..." I groaned, laying on my back.

"Set card. End turn." It finished.

"Gah..." I stood back up. "All of my monsters...I only have one card in my hand, and he has that Number along with its two defending monsters, and Overlay Feast."

I looked at my Deck. "I have no choice." With a shaking hand, I placed two fingers on the top card. "I've got to bet it all on this card! It's my turn! Draw!" I drew as strong as I could, and looked at the card, my eyes widening.

"Constellar Belt!?" I looked at the Continuos Spell. "I...I can't defeat Shadow Lich with this card..." I stared up at the Number. "I can't win...what happens when I lose against this thing!? Shit!" I fell to my hands and knees in despair.

"This monster...how can I possibly fight it?" I clenched my fists. "I can't...I can't..."

"Lennox, are you giving up just like that?"

"Huh?" I looked up to see a face I hadn't properly seen for a long, long time. "M-Mum?"

She smiled softly. "Things do look dark at the moment, don't they? But if there's one thing I've learned from your father, it's that you don't feel sad in a Duel. You always enjoy yourself, and find a way."

She rested a hand on the empty yellow Extra Deck holder at my waist. "Let me give you a little hand, dear." And in a flash of bright light, she was gone.

"Mum!" I gasped as she vanished.

My Extra Deck opened up, revealing a bright light inside. "What?" I reached inside and felt something, taking it out I realised it was a card. "This is..." I studied the card and nodded. "Okay! I know what to do!" I stood up fully.

"I activate Constellar Belt from my hand! This Continuos Spell prevents my LIGHT monsters effects from bein g negated!"

"Prevents?" The slime echoed, glancing at its set card.

"I thought so...now I summon Constellar Sombre!" The female Constellar with wings of stars appeared with 1550 ATK. "I now activate her effect! By banishing a Constellar from my Graveyard, I can add a Constellar from my Graveyard to my hand! I banish Acubens to add Kaus to my hand!" I took Kaus out of my Graveyard.

"Also! After activating this effect, Sombre allows me to Normal Summon once more! So, I summon the Kaus I just added to my hand!" Kaus reappeared on the field. "I now activate Kaus' effect! Twice per turn, I can increase or decrease the Level of a Constellar by one! I increase both my Constellar's Levels to 5!" Kaus fired two arrows into the sky that burst into sparkles that rained down on the two monsters, boosting their Levels by 1.

I looked at the card. "I'm ready, Mum! I overlay my Level 5 Constellar Sombre, and my Level 5 Constellar Kaus!" The two monsters turned into streams of yellow energy as a galactic portal opened at my feet. "With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay Network!" The two monsters swirled into the portal together, creating a burst of light energy.

"Xyz Summon! Descend! Rank 5! **Number 89: Dawn Sword**!"

A giant sword emerged from the portal, with a long silver blade that grew wider as it went down, then formed a diamond at the tip, whilst the handle and handguard were sapphire blue in colour, and had emerald diamond gems on the ends of them, and extending out from each side of the handguard were long red sashes with a yellow star on each side of them, and five tussles on the end. Completing it was the number 89 in dark pink on the front of the right handguard.

The blade of the sword then split in two, and turned 90 degrees so that the sharp part faced forward and the split part faced back, making it look like the sword now had two legs. The two parts of the handguard extended out, increasing the size of the gems, whilst the handle opened up and split down into a 'V' shape at the back, revealing a masked head with emerald eyes, now making the the split blade look like actual legs and the handguard look like shoulders. Finally, the tussles on the ends of each sash clenched into fists, showing that they were the arms.

 **Number 89: Dawn Sword, Rank 5, Warrior, LIGHT, ATK: 2700 DEF: 1800**

"Number!" The slime gasped.

"I activate the effect of Number 89: Dawn Sword! By detaching an Overlay Unit from it..." Dawn Sword absorbed one of its yellow comets. "I can target 1 card my opponent controls, and negate its effects as long as Dawn Sword remains face-up on the field! I target Number 48: Shadow Lich! Piercing Purge!" Dawn Sword's legs combined into a sowrd which it fired a beam of light from that hit Shadow Lich, returning it to 1800 ATK.

"Impossible!" The goo yelled.

"Dawn Sword! Attack Shadow Lich! Shining Slash!" Dawn Sowrd swung its blade for a lower body back and slashed Shadow Lich and the Phantom Tokens.

"Gglrghhglaaarrrggghhh!" The blinding light from the attack sent the slime dissolving into the force of the Number's power.

 **Unknown's LP: 0**

 **Lennox: WIN!**

I looked at the place where my opponent previously stood as Number 89 faded away, where nothing but a few drops of red goo remained.

"I guess that's that." I said as I looked at Number 89: Dawn Sword's card. "Thank you, mum..."

I walked over to the drops of goo and noticed several cards on the ground. "Hm?" I picked them up to discover they were three copies of Goo Shadow and Number 48. "It left these cards behind..."

I stared at the two Numbers. "Numbers, huh...wonder what the goo wanted with it?"

"Duel Blood."

"Ah!" I jumped at the voice and spun around to be met with a young man, 18 I'd say. He had white hair that flared out to the sides then spiked down at the ends, back and across the forehead, with black strands sweeping across the sides and atop his head in the shape of lightning bolts. He had piercing red eyes and wore a crimson red twin tailed jacket with a pink heart badge on his left breast, and golden buttons connecting the jacket at his waist. Underneath it he wore a blue shirt with a green tie, black slacks and sharp yellow boots with white polka dots.

"You scared me." I breathed. "How long havbe you been there?"

"Long enough." He said with a friendly smile. "I admit, I didn't think you'd be able to defeat that Duel Blood."

"Duel Blood?" I echoed. "Is that what that thing was called?"

"Yes." He nodded. "My name is Shino Cubaki, and I have been studying the Duel Blood, as well as the Number cards."

"You know about these?" I asked, holding up the two cards.

"The Number cards hold incredible power." Shino said. "They take a form most accustomed to its holder upon contact, and cannot change afterwards, and I believe that they can be used for good or evil, depending on who wields them. Both the Numbers and Duel Blood appeared recently, and I believe that they are linked. I just don't knowq how yet."

"So, why are you telling me this?" I asked.

"From what I've found out, Numbers appear to feed off of negative human emotions, and corrupt their holders." He continued. "However, you seem to be unaffected. You have been chosen by the Numbers. Thus, Lennox Mori, I request your help in keeping the Numbers out of evil hands."

"Um...okay?" Geez, a lot of responsibility all of a sudden.

"Simply defeat a Number holder, and retrieve their Numbers." He told me. "Collect as many as possible, and defeat the Duel Blood. That is all I can tell you thus far."

I looked down at the two Numbers. "Wait, just who exactly are you?" But as I looked up, he was gone. "...That is so cliche."

 _ZEXAL_

I walked home, hands in my pocket across the setting sun. "I'd better not tell dad or Amy about all this today, not that they'd believe me or anything." I looked at the orange sun. "Now that I think about it, I never caught Yuma or Ryoga today...I should see them Monday."

I leaned on the railing and took out Number 89. "Mum...you gave me this card, didn't you? Do you want me to collect these Numbers?" I looked at the orange sun. "Alright then, I'll find these Numbers and fight the Duel Blood!"

"I should call myself something then." I thought aloud. "Like a Number Seeker or something." I then started walking again, thinking of what to call myself.

Meanwhile, a certain spiky haired Duelist was walking above him.

"Oh hey! It's Lennox!" Yuma said.

"Another friend of yours?" A blue floating being next to him asked.

"Oh, shut up already!" Yuma yelled. "I was planning to Duel him, got it!?"

"I see." He said as he looked at Lennox with a curious look. "He seems...different."

"What are you talking about?" Yuma muttered.

"I think he might have a Number." He thought aloud.

"Lennox?" Yuma mumbled, looking down at him. "In that case, I'll Duel him to find out!"

The being closed his eyes. "You are quite brash."

"Oi!"

 _Number 48: Shadow Lich (anime): Once per turn, during either player's turn: You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card; Special Summon 1 "Phantom Token" (Fiend-Type/DARK/Level 1/ATK 500/DEF 500). (This is a Quick Effect.) While you control a "Phantom Token", your opponent cannot target this card for attacks. This card gains 500 ATK for each "Phantom Token" you control._

 _Overlay Feast: Once per turn, you can target 1 Xyz monster you control, and equip 1 card from your hand to that monster as an Xyz Material._

 _Frenzy Reaping: Target 1 monster you control; no other monster you control can attack this turn, and the targeted monster can attack equal to the number of monsters you control._

 _Number 89: Dawn Sword: Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material fvrom this card to target 1 card your opponent controls; its effects are negated as long as this card remains face-up on the field._

 **Yay! New chapter!**

 **So, yeah, I had some free time on my hands and I felt like updating this story, so here it is!**

 **What do you guys think of Number 89: Dawn Sword, or Shino Cubaki? Say so in a review!**

 **So, until next time, see you in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Yuma and Me

You ever get that weird feeling when you come into school on a Monday morning after fighting a blob of goo and gaining cards that may or may not be evil?...It actually feels just like every other day.

"Good morning, Lennox." I looked up to see Takashi Todoroki, our class representative. "Did you do anything interesting this weekend? To summarize, was it good?"

"Oh, yeah, nothing much." I shrugged, finding I was surprisingly good at lying...I think.

"I see." He nodded. "You know, I heard a rumour about the outcome of the Duel between Ryoga Kastle and Yuma Tsukumo. To summarize, I heard Yuma won!"

"Wait, Yuma won?" I didn't mean to sound rude but...this was Yuma! Who doesn't know how to Chain! And Ryoga made it to the finals in a Dueling Tounrmanent! "I find that a little hard to believe..."

"I know how you feel." He nodded. "Anyways, I'd better prepare the classroom." And so he hurried off to his duties.

'Class rep never sits still...' I thought. 'Still though...did Yuma really beat Ryoga? Rumours are really fickle...I'd better see if I can talk with Yuma later...'

That was my original plan, which I abandoned as soon as I saw Yuma get beaten to a pulp by class rep. Didn't lose a single Life Point. Do you see my point?

'I guess I should find Ryoga instead.' I decided.

So I spent the rest of the day looking for Ryoga, but I couldn't find him anywhere! Seriously, what was going on at the minute? I already had enough to deal with involving Numbers and Duel Blood! Still not over it!

It was only at Dueling time when something actually happened. I noticed Yuma talking to himself on the stairs, hell, yelling at thin air! He then turned towards me and walked over.

"Hey, Lennox!" He grinned.

"Uh, hey, Yuma." I waved. "Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh." He hissed through his teeth, obviously annoyed at something. "It's just that, I could have won that Duel with the class rep is SOMEONE hadn't left me!"

"...Are you shouting at the air?" I asked.

"No! I'm shouting at...shut up!" He had his back turned to me.

"...Are...are you okay, Yuma?" I asked.

"Yeah!" He spun on his heel to face me again. "Listen, Lennox, do you know anything about Number cards?"

"What!?" Yuma of all people was in on this!? I dragged him over to an unoccupied area of the Dueling grounds. "Yuma, how do you know about Numbers?"

"Eh!? So you DO know about it, Lennox!?" He gasped.

"I was asking how YOU knew about it!" I rebuffed.

Yuma reached into his Extra Deck and pulled out two Xyz Monsters: Number 39 and Number 17. "These are my Numbers I've got so far."

I reached into my own Extra Deck and pulled out Number 89 and Number 48. "Well then, these are mine."

We both stared at each others respective Number cards, until Yuma looked over his shoulder. "Be quiet! Lennox is my friend! Besides, he isn't acting all weird like Shark was!"

He's still talking to air...wait..."What do you mean, Shark was acting weird?"

"Shark had this card when I dueled him." He pointed to Number 17. "What was that again...I could have remembered it you jerk! They feed off of negative emotion."

"Negative emotion?" I echoed, looking down at the four Number cards. "I heard Numbers take their form based off of their holder..."

The two of us remained in silent thought, until the bell rang for the final lesson of the day. "Aw, crap, already?" Yuma moaned as we both put our Numbers away. "Hey, Lennox. Let's Duel sometime, okay?...Well what if I WANT to let you disappear!?" He then stormed off.

"...What...just...happened...?" I asked myself.

 _ZEXAL_

All thgroughout that night and into the next day of school, I thought about Yuma and Ryoga. Somehow, they had gotten caught up with Numbers as well, and Yuma seemed to be a central figure somehow or other...so where did I stand in all of this?

Right now, though, I just had to focus on collecting Numbers from evil people, and I don't think Yuma was the evil type. Maybe a bit crazy nowadays, but not evil.

Speaking of Yuma, at Dueling time, he along with Kotori and Tetsuo came over to me. "Hello, Yuma." I greeted him.

"Hey, Lennox!" He waved. "Y'know, I was thinking, since we both collect Numbers now, we could have a Duel!"

"Duel, now?" I asked.

"Yuma, why are you Dueling Lennox about this?" Kotori sighed.

"I admit, I wouldn't think you'd have Numbers, Lennox, whatever they are. No offense." Tetsuo said.

"None taken." I smiled. "Alright, Yuma, I accept your challenge!"

"Alright!" Yuma cheered before looking over his shoulder. "I get it already!...Sigh...but no Numbers."

"No Numbers?" I echoed.

"Yeah, apprently Numbers...er..." He looked to be in deep thought.

"Tetsuo sighed. "You said that Numbers fight to control each other, right?"

Yuma hit his palm with his fist in realisation. "Yeah! That's it!"

"So it's a winner take all situation, huh?" Well, at least now I knew a bit more about the Numbers. "Got it, no Numbers."

"Then let's do this, already!" He cried as he tossed his D-Pad into the air. "Duel Disk, set!" It equipped to his left arm and opened up its slot zones. "D-Gazer, set!" We both put on our Duel Gazers.

 _"AR-Vision: Link Established."_ The robotic voice said.

"DUEL!"

 **Lennox vs. Yuma LP: 4000**

"I'll go first!" Yuma declared confidently. "My turn! I draw!" He looked at his cards and smirked. "I summon Gogogo Golem in attack position!" The ground opened up and a golem with 1800 ATK climbed out. "I end my turn!"

'That's it?' I sighed internally. 'Geez, Yuma...' "My turn! Draw! I summon Constellar Pollux!" A white knight with a twin-bladed sword and 1700 ATK appeared.

"Heh, it has less attack then Gogogo Golem!" He then looked irked at the empty space beside him. "Shut up!"

I wonder if I should get him some help..."I activate Pollux's effect! When this card is Summoned, I can Normal Summon an additional time this turn!"

"Wait, you can Normal Summon twice!?" Yuma gasped.

"Yep!" I nodded. "So, I'll release Pollux to Advance Summon Constellar Alrescha!" A larger version of Pollux with 2200 ATK appeared.

"Uh-oh! It has more ATK then Gogogo Golem!" He realised.

"And that's not all." I continued. "When Alrescha is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Constellar from my hand in face-up Defense Position. My choice is this one! Constellar Antares!" A shining skinny figure wielding a spear on the end of a whip of some kind appeared with 900 DEF.

"Two Level 6 monsters in one go!?" Yuma panicked.

"Alrescha! Attack Gogogo Golem!" Alrescha slashed the Golem with its blades, causing it to burst into light particles.

 **Yuma's LP: 3600**

"I set two cards and end my turn!" I finished.

"Man, you really are good, Lennox!" Yuma grinned. "I'm gonna kattobingu! My turn! Draw!"

'There's his phrase.' I noted.

"I summon Gagaga Magician!" I recognised this card of Yuma's, the mysterious magician with 1500 ATK. "Now I'll equip him with Bound Wand, which'll boost his attack by his own Level times 100!" Gagaga Magician grabbed the red jeweled weapon, increasing its ATK to 1900.

"Okay, now how can I get his attack even higher to beat Alrescha?" Yuma thought aloud. Kotori sighed and Tetsuo faceplamed as Yuma glared at thin air. "I knew that! I activate Gagaga Magician's effect! Once per turn, I can change its Level from 1 to 8 until the End Phase! I make Gagaga Magician Level 8! So now, Bound Wand increases its attack even more!" The eight points on the magicians belt glowed as it became Level 8, and Bound Wand raised its ATK to 2300.

"Gagaga Magician! Attack Constellar Alrescha!" The monster raised its weapon above its head.

"Trap card, open! Dimensional Prison!" The card flipped up. "Not only does this negate your monsters Aattack, but it is banished as well!"

"What!?" Yuma gasped as a tear into a dark world opened up which sucked Gagaga Magician in. "Gagaga Magician!"

"SInce he's gone, Bound Wand is also destroyed." I said as the card burst.

"Not good!" Yuma exclaimed. "I set a card and end my turn!"

"My turn, then. I draw!" I looked at the card and added it to my hand. "I summon Satellarknight Rigel from my hand!" A white robed knight with 1900 ATK appeared next to the Constellars. "Also, I switch Constellar Antares to ATK Position!" The monster stood up at its full height with 2400 ATK. "Now! Constellar Antares! Attack Yuma directly!" It jumped up and spun its weapon over its head in preparation.

"Trap card, open! Battle Break!" Yuma's own Trap flipped up. "Since your monster decalred an attack, this card derstroys it and ends the Battle Phase!"

"I won't allow that! Counter Trap, Stellarnova Alpha!" I cried. "When a Spell, Trap, or monster effect is activated, I can send a tellarknight I control to the Graveyard to negate its activation and destroy it! I choose Satellarknight Rigel!" I silently thanked the monster as it flew forward and pierced through Battle Break. "Finally, I draw a card."

"No way!" Yuma panicked.

"Constellars Antares and Alrescha! Attack Yuma directly!" The two monsters fired their attacks together, knocking Yuma off of his feet.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" He shouted as he was floored.

 **Yuma's LP: 0**

 **Lennox: WIN!**

"Man..." Yuma groaned as he sat cross-legged. "Lennox, your really strong!"

"Plus, your still kinda weak." Tetsuo joked.

"Hey!" Yuma jumped to his feet. "Alright, Lennox! I'm gonna become stronger, and then we'll Duel again, got it!?"

I smiled. "Sure, Yuma. Just make sure you improve."

"Yeah." He nodded in determination, before looking to the left of him. "Right, right...and let's gather the Numbers!"

"Sounds like a plan." I said, just as the bell rang.

"Alright, it's P.E next!" Yuma cheered as he ran off.

Seeing as Yuma was gone, I turned to Kotori and Tetsuo. "So, er...what's up with Yuma talking to himself?"

"tetsuo shrugged. "He says he's got some blue guy named Astral following him around."

"Apparently the Numbers are part of Astral's memory." Kotori added.

"Memory?" I echoed. "How are cards pieces of memory?"

"I dunno, it just seems a bit weird to me." Tetsuo shrugged as he walked off.

"Thank you for Dueling Yuma, Lennox!" Kotori thanked me as she also headed inside.

"Numbers...they're getting more mysterious by the second...and I'm talking to myself again."

 _ZEXAL_

I walked down the street on my way home, contemplating everything I knew so far. The Numbers seemed to play multiple rolse with negative emotions and possibly being a fragment of memory...but how did those link? And what did the Duel Blood have anything to do with this? I didn't have enough answers...

Suddenly I heard the screeching of tires and halted as a red car spun around the corner and headed straight for me!

"Holy shit!" I jumped out of the way as the car crashed into a building in a small explosion. "What the hell as that!?"

I scrambled to my feet as a figure emerged unharmed from the fire. He had crazed frizzy orange and purple hair, and wore a mad mix between a pink clown outfit and blue biker jacket, with baggy yellow trousers with white pig faces on them, and big poofy green shoes with oversized orange laces...what? I'm just describing what I saw!

"Yeehahahahaha!" He laughed maniacally. "Gee, that sure was fun! Pretty fireworks too! Woo-hooooooooo!"

"Who is that guy!?" I yelled my thoughts.

"He overdramatically peered into the distance. "Let's see what else there is to do!" He began skipping away!

"Hey, hold on!" I called after him as I gave chase. I chased him as he yelled like a lunatic (which I think he was) until I cornered him in front of a building. "Got you now!"

He turned to me with a crazed grin. "You've benn following me! Yehahahahaha! You wanna play a game, buddy?" He held up his right hand, and I noticed there was an 85 on the back of his hand.

"Numbers..." I mumbled. "Alright then, how about a Duel?"

His grin widened. "A Duel? Sure! Yehahahahahaha!" He got out a standard D-Pad and D-Gazer.

"Duel Disk, set!" I activated my Duel Disk. "D-Gazer, set!" I placed it over my left eye.

 _"AR-Vision: Link Established."_

"DUEL!"

 **Lennox vs. Wirano LP: 4000**

"Yehahahahaha! I'm going first!" He laughed. "I draw!" he smiled at the card he drew. "I summon **Mad Shaman** from my hand!" A skinny figure wearing a leaf skirt and an angry tribal mask holding a wooden staff appeared.

Mad Shaman, Level 4, Warrior, DARK, ATK: 1400 DEF: 1200

"Now I activate Mad Dance!" The Spell showed two Mad Shaman's and a Mad Archfiend dancing around a campfire. "With this, I can Special Summon 1 Mad monster from my hand! I choose my second Mad Shaman!" An identical monster appeared.

"He has two Level 4 monsters..." I whispered.

"Lennox!"

"Huh?" I turned to see Yuma, Kotori, and Tetsuo. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We heard you chased after some crazy guy, so we came looking for you!" Yuma said.

"Who's the nutjob?" Tetsuo asked.

"Yippie! More friends to play with!" Wirano said giddily. "I'll finish playing with him, then start with you!"

"Eep!" Kotori screamed.

"Let the games begin! Yehahahahahaha! I overlay my two Level 4 Mad Shaman!" The two monsters turned into purple streams of energy. "With these two monsters, I build the Overlay Network!" The two monsters dived into thge galactic portal.

"Come forth! Number 85! Insane catalyst of darkness! Crazy Box!" A large dark purple cube with a red 85 on it appeared; the Number in its sealed form, before comnponents of the cube broke off and fell away, revealing a spiked core and a red eye, as the Number cackled evilly with 3000 ATK!?

"That Number has 3000 attack!" Yuma yelled.

"It's only a Rank 4! How can it have that much power!?" I shouted.

"Yehahahahahahaha!" He laughed. "Be grateful! Crazy Box cannot declare an attack!"

"Wait, so it can't attack?" Yuma thought aloud.

"So it must be effect reliant." I said.

"I activate the effect of my two Mad Shaman's!" He continued. "When they're used as Overlay Units, I can attach a card from my hand to that Xyz Monster as an Overlay Unit!" Two cards in his hand glowed before zipping up to Crazy Box and becoming purple comets, making a total of four. "Yehahahahaha! Now! Witness the power of my Number!"

I glared at Crazy Box. "What is your secret? Number?" The monster just cackled madly in response.

 _Mad Shaman: When this card is used as an Xyz Material for an Xyz Summon; you can attach one card from your hand to that Xyz Monster as an Xyz Material._

 _Mad Dance: Special Summon 1 'Mad' monster from your hand._

 **And this makes chapter numero tres, sorry if this one seemd a bit uneventful compared to the previous two, but you can't have major revealances or big mysteries every chapter.**

 **But in any case, those who have been reading so far, thank you for your support so far! It's greatly appreciated.**

 **By the way, since Number 85 debuted this chapter, what is your favourite Number? Mine personally is Number 96: Dark Mist.**

 **Thank you for reading, everybody! See you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Warring Numbers! 

"Yehahahahahaha! I activate the effect of Crazy Box!" Wirano screeched. "By detaching one Overlay Unit, I can roll a dice, then activate an effect depending on the roll!"

Crazy Box absorbed an Overlay Unit, and it reverted back into its sealed form of a regular dark cube and began spinning around wildly. It suddenly froze, and two red eyes flashed like that on a dice.

"2! Thus, I draw 1 card!" He drew as Crazy Box returned to normal. "I set a card and end my turn!"

"Go get 'em, Lennox!" Yuma cheered.

"My turn! Draw!" I looked at my cards and formulated a plan. "I summon Constellar Algiedi!" The female Constellar appeared in a burst of light with 1600 ATK. "As Algiedi was Normal Summoned, I can use her effect to Special Summon the Level 4 Constellar Acubens from my hand!" The pincer wielding Constellar appeared next to its comrade.

"When Acubens is Summoned, all Constellars I currently control gain 500 ATK!" Algiedi and Acubens were boosted to 2100 and 1300 ATK respectively. "I set two cards and end my turn!"

"He wasn't even able to attack." Kotori mumbled sadly.

"There's not much you can do against a 3000 ATK monster." Tetsuo admitted.

'One of my face down cards is **Hope Help**.' I thought, using my D-Gazer to check the face-down, which showed two shining knights charging a castle, with one jumping off of the other to ascend the wall, whilst the ground knight was surrounded by goblins. 'By releasing one monster, I can double the attack of a Level 4 or lower monster until the End Phase. If I release Acubens to double Algiedi's attack, it will be strong enough to defeat Crazy Box. But it's a Number, so it wouldn't be destroyed, and I would waste it. I have to find a way to either negate its effect or destroy it some other way before using it.'

"Yeeeeeeeeha! My turn!" Wirano drew. "I activate Crazy Box's effect to detach an Overlay Unit and roll the dice!" Crazy Box absorbed a comet and spun around like a dice, before freezing as five red eyes appeared on it. "5! That means I can destroy 1 card! Bye bye Constellar Algiedi!" A blast of dark energy shot out and obliterated my monster.

'Crap!' I cursed in my head.

"Yahahaha! Now I activate the Quick-Play Spell; Big Return!" He continued. "With this, I can activate a once per turn effect again! I'll use Crazy Box's effect a second time!" The Xyz sent itself spinning again before it stopped with 4 red eyes. "4! With this effect, I can negate the effects of 1 face-up card on the field until the End Phase! Hehehehehe! I target Crazy Box itself!"

"Huh? Why would he do that?" Yuma thought aloud. "Negating its own effects is pretty stupid..."

"Don't you get it, Yuma?" Tetsuo cried. "Crazy Box's effect prevents it from attacking!"

"Yeah, so?" I facepalmed at Yuma's idiocity.

"With it's effects negated, Crazy Box can attack!" I told him.

"What!? But that thing has 3000 attack!" Yuma gasped.

"Lennox!" Kotori cried.

"Crazy Box! Attack Constellar Acubens! Mad Smash!" Crazy Box reverted to its sealed form and fell down towards Acubens like a meteor.

"I activate my Trap! Miracle Card!" My go-to Trap flipped up. "When I'm attacked, I draw a card, then apply an effect depending on what card I draw! Draw!" I drew the card and looked at it, only for my eyes to widen. "A Spell card!?"

Crazy Box crushed Acubens, and I cried out as I was thrown back, the damage doubled from Miracle Card's effect.

 **Lennox's LP: 600**

"I set a card and end my turn!" Wirano laughed.

"Ack...that hurt..." I groaned as I stumbled to my feet. "My turn! Draw!" I checked the cards in my hand and the one I just drew. 'Constellar Kaus...what can I do in this situation? None of my monsters can match Crazy Box's power right now, and even if I used Hope Help, I wouldn't be able to destroy it...so first, I'll set up a strong offense to try and intimidate him!'

"I activate the Spell, Constellar Star Cradle, to add Algiedi and Acubens from my Graveyard to my hand, at the cost of skipping my Battle Phase!" I took the two monsters out of my Graveyard. "Now I summon Constellar Algiedi, and with her effect, I'll Special Summon Constellar Kaus from my hand!" The two monsters appeared in ATK Position.

"I activate the effect of Kaus, with its effect I can increase or decrease a Constellar's Level by 1 twice a turn! I'll increase both Algiedis and Kaus' Levels by 1!" Kaus fired two arrows skyward which burst into sparkles, raining down on the two monsters and making them Level 5. "Now I overlay my Level 5 Constellar's Algiedi and Kaus!" The two Constellar's became golden streams of energy that swirled together into the glalactic portal.

"Xyz Summon! Descend! Number 89: Dawn Sword!" The monster appeared in its sealed form, before converting into its true form.

"Awesome! It's Lennox's Number!" Yuma cheered. "Go for it, Lennox!"

"I end my turn!" I finished, causing Yuma to comically collapse.

"C'mon, Lennox! What's the point of summoning it if you can't use it!?" Yuma whined.

"Lennox obviously has a plan, unlike you, Yuma." Tetsuo huffed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Yuma muttered.

"Hahahahahaha! Another Number! Finally, a challenge! My turn!" Wirano drew. "Again! Crazy Box's effect!" The cube absorbed the last comet, and began spinning wildly.

"I'll bet it on this roll!" I declared. "Stop, Crazy Box!" The Number obeyed, and a single eye appeared on its face.

"1..." My opponent's expression almost instantly changed to sad. "That means, my Life Points are halved..." Crazy Box's single eye glowed before firing a red laser towards its master.

"Alright! He'll take damage!" Kotori cheered.

However, his grin instantly returned. "Juuuuuust kidding! Trap card, open! **Life Curse**!" The card showed a purple, veiny heart covered in black runes, with a purple miasma around it. "When I would take damage from a card or effect, I negate that damage!" The beam was blocked by an invisible shield. "Then, you take that damage instead!"

"What!?" I gasped, just before I was blasted by the eye beam myself, sending me crashing against the ground.

 **Lennox's LP: 300**

"Lennox!" Yuma gasped.

"I'm okay!" I assured him. "And now, Crazy Box has no more Overlay Units!"

"Oh? Is that what you think?" Wirano smirked. "I activate the effect of the two Mad Mask's in my hand!" The two monsters appeared, both depicted as angry red tiki masks with blue tears streaming from their eyes, and black tribal fire markings across their forehead.

 **Mad Mask, Level 1, Rock, DARK, ATK: 0 DEF: 0**

"I can attach these monsters from my hand to a monster I control as Overlay Units!" The two cards turned into twin comets circling Crazy Box. "With that, I end my turn!"

"He has Overlay units again..." I hissed, staring at the monster. "I have to defeat it quickly, ot I'll lose!" I placed two fingers on the top card of my Deck. "Please respond to me! My Deck!" I drew the card, and looked at it, my eyes widening. "This monster?" I thought for a moment, connecting all the possible outcomes of using this card in my head, until I finally found an answer. "...I've got it!"

"I summon Satellarknight Alsahm from my hand!" A little holy archer appeared with 1400 ATK. "At this point, his effect activates! When he's Summoned, I can inflict 1000 damage to my opponent!" The monster took aim and shot an arrow of light that pierced through Wirano.

 **Wirano's LP: 3000**

"Now I activate the Spell; **Selfless Summon**!" The card showed a purple robed magician holding a red heart, whilst a shadowy monster crawled out of a portal in front of them. " By targeting a monster I control, I can Special Summon a monster with the same Level from my hand, then reduce both of their Levels by 1!" I declared. "I summon Constellar Acubens!" The monster reappeared with its ATK boosted to 1300, as both its and Alsahm's Levels dropped to 3.

"I overlay my Level 3 Satellarknight Alsahm and Constellar Acubens!" The two monsters turned into yellow streams of light that dived into the galactic portal. "Come forth! Number 48, Shadow Lich!" The dark Number appeared wielding its scythe.

"So that's Lennox's second Number!" Yuma marvelled.

"I activate the effect of Shadow Lich!" I cried. "By detaching an Overlay Unit, I Special Summon a Phantom Token in Attack Position!" Shadow Lich swung its scythe, slicing through one of its Overlay Units, causing a little red robed mini reaper to appear next to him. "For each Phantom Token Summoned, Shadow Lich gains 500 attack!" The monsters attack rose to 2300.

"Yehahahahaha! That Number isn't strong enough to beat Crazy Box! Too bad, so sad!" Wirano laughed.

"Not yet, at least." I smirked, holding up my last card. "I activate the Spell, **Passing Light**!" The card showed two shining comets crisscrossing over each other in a sapphire blue and black starry sky, with a prominent star shining inbetween them. "By targeting a LIGHT type monster on the field, I give it's Attack points to another monster until the End Phase by preventing all other LIGHT-Type monsters save for the boosted monster from attacking this turn! I target Number 89, Dawn Sword, and give its power to Number 48, Shadow Lich!"

Dawn Sword reverted back into its sealed form as Shadow Lich grabbed it, wielding both the Number and its scythe as its ATK rose to 5000.

"5-5000 attack!?" Wirano screamed, finally showing panic.

"Awesome! Go for it, Lennox!" Yuma cheered.

"Shadow Lich! Attack Number 85, Crazy Box! Shade Scythe!" The monster swung both its weapons, slicing Crazy Box into pieces as the monster exploded, sending Wirano flying across the ground.

 **Wirano's LP: 1000**

"Finally, I activate my Trap, Hope Help!" The card flipped up. "By tributing a monster, I can double the attack of a Level 4 or lower monster until the End Phase! I tribute Shadow Lich to double the Phantom Token's attack!" Shadow Lich disappeared, with Dawn Sword returning to normal, as a light enveloped the Phantom Token, doubling its ATK to 1000.

"This is it! Phantom Token will attack directly!" The token charged forward and rammed into Wirano, making him fall flat on his back.

 **Wirano's LP: 0**

 **Lennox: WIN!**

I ran over to Wirano as a card ejected out of his chest like a receipt (weird comparison, I know). I picked it up and saw that it was indeed Number 85, Crazy Box.

"That was so awesome, Lennox!" Yuma cheered as he, Kotori and Tetsuo ran over to me. "You did all that damage to him in just one turn!"

"It's called an OTK, Yuma." Tetsuo informed him.

"Heh, I want to do an OTK, someday!" He fistpumped, making Tetsuo laugh. "Oi, oi! What's so funny!?"

"The thought of you trying to do that, Yuma!" He smirked, causing Yuma to give him an annoyed look.

"I'm sure you'll be able to do it, Yuma." Kotori encouraged him.

"As long as you put in some practice and learn basic strategies." I mumbled.

"I'm fine how I am!" He argued. "Anyway, Lennox, are you gonna keep that Number?"

I looked down at the card. "I think it'd be best for the time being. I should stockpile as many Numbers as possible before they fall into the wrong hands."

I heard a groan behind me, and I turned to see Wirano standing up with a bewildered look on his face. "My word...what on earth am I doing here? And what is wrong with my hair and clothes? Oh, you children wouldn't happen to know what is going on, do you?"

'He's so polite! What a drastic turn!' Myself and (I'm pretty sure) the trio thought.

"Ah, sorry, I must have startled you. I'd best be on my way myself then." He then hurried off.

'So that was what he was really like?' I looked down at Crazy Box. 'So Numbers not only take form based on their user, but influence them as well? They are dangerous, then...but for some reason, I don't get that dreaded feeling from Dawn Sword...maybe it has to do with how it appeared to me when I needed it.'

"Yo, Lennox! You're spacing out, are you okay?" Yuma asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reassured him. "A bit tired though..."

"Let's head over to the donut shop and rest." Tetsuo suggested.

"Alright! Let's go!" Yuma declared as we started walking.

'Numbers...' I thought as we moved. 'I will...definitely find out the truth behind them!'

 _Hope Help: Target 1 monster you control, and 1 Level 4 or lower monster you control. Destroy the first target, then double the ATK of the second target until the End Phase._

 _Life Curse: When you would take effect damage, or your LP would decrease via a card effect, negate that damage/effect, and apply that damage/effect to your opponent._

 _Mad Mask: You can attach this card from your hand to an Xyz Monster you control as an Xyz Material._

 _Selfless Summon: Target 1 Level 4 or lower monster you control, Special Summon 1 monster with the same Level as that monster from your hand, and reduce both monsters Levels by 1._

 _Passing Light: Target 1 LIGHT-Attribute monster you control and 1 other monster you control, increase the ATK of the second target by the ATK of the first target until the End Phase. LIGHT-Attribute monsters other then the second target cannot attack the turn you activate this card._

 **Wow, it's been a while since I updated this.**

 **I have to admit, I really want this story to continue. But I'm just juggling too many things at the moment, and I just don't have time to fit it in. If anybody wants to help me with it, or maybe continue it themselves, PM me and we'll discuss it. Otherwise I will continue to update whenever possible.**

 **In any case, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**


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